Should Rahul Gandhi have replied to Giriraj Singh by marrying a Nigerian girl?

Rahul Gandhi's continued absence in the political arena is generating more and more speculation with each passing day. While some say his absence is doing more harm to the party than good, others feel Sonia Gandhi should continue to lead the party from the front for only she can change Congress's sagging fortunes. [Could Giriraj Singh's remarks have affected India-Nigerial relations?]

But no matter how much one refuses to acknowledge Rahul Gandhi's leadership qualities, he had a huge opportunity to give the BJP the reply of a lifetime. Just like his mother had done in 2004 by refusing to don the mantle of the prime minister.

Had he married a Nigerian girl, Rahul Gandhi would have served two useful purposes:

How about Rahul Gandhi marrying a Nigerian girl during his mysterious sabbatical?

It will serve two purposes. First, it will shut the motormouths of the BJP like Giriraj Singh who humiliated the Congress chief a few days ago over her skin complexion. Singh, a Union minister, questioned whether the Congress would have accepted the wife of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as its chief had she been a Nigerian. [Union minister Giriraj Singh makes racist remark on Sonia Gandhi]

Secondly, it will cement Rahul Gandhi's image as one who also sacrificed his life for the country just like his predecessors. This will go a long way to convince the cynics that Rahul Gandhi is indeed a leadership material. The waste of time behind the useless debate over his marriage will also stop and the will-be-45 leader will have a lot more time to build his party from the scratch.

In 2004, Sonia Gandhi too had a diplomatic victory over the BJP

In 2004, the BJP had put up a serious resistance to Sonia Gandhi over her foreign origin. Leaders like Sushma Swaraj had even announced that she would shave her head if Sonia, an Italian by birth, had become the prime minister after her party won that year's Lok Sabha election.

In 2004, Sonia blunted the BJP's weapon of nationalism by refusing to become PM

But a diplomatic Sonia Gandhi ended the BJP's hope for a show of nationalism by choosing Manmohan Singh, very much an Indian, for the prime minister's post.

Should Rahul Gandhi have followed the example to grab a surprising victory over Narendra Modi's lot amid a series of disappointment?